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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Nicola Davis Science correspondent

Prospect of life on Saturn’s moons rises after discovery of organic substances

Saturn and its moons
A Cassini mission image shows Saturn moons, including Enceladus (second right), orbiting the planet. Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/EPA

The likelihood that one of Saturn’s moons may harbour life has risen, experts say, after finding an array of carbon-based substances being spewed out of Enceladus.

The sixth largest of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus has become one of the leading contenders in the search for bodies that could harbour extraterrestrial life, with the Cassini mission – which ended in 2017 – revealing the moon has a plume of water ice grains and vapours erupting from beneath the surface at its south pole.

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